Shadows Linger
by Jeremy Harper
Summary: A Shadows-verse story. Akane is suffering from nightmares caused by her experiences with Talia al Ghul and turns to Ranma for support. Set between Shadows Over Nerima and Looking For Trouble.


Shadows Linger

A Ranma ½ / Batman Fan Fiction

by

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Batman is the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Both are used without permission.

Timeline – Shadows Linger occurs between Shadow Over Nerima and Looking For Trouble.

Akane awoke quick and hard, and for a brief, terrifying moment she did not know where she was. She shuddered, bringing her hands to her face and grimacing. The memory of her nightmare lingered, cold and unyielding, a pain that permeated in every atom of her being, making her feel clammy and sick. She threw off her sheets, sat up, rubbing her arms and shuddering again. She remembered with terrible, too vivid clarity Kuno's unyielding weight bearing down on top of her and the piercing, merciless gaze of brilliant green eyes. The echoing, un-gainsayable voice of a beautiful, cruel woman who considered her but a weapon to be used. Nothing more.

Akane inhaled deeply, glanced at her clock, and sighed. It was 12:30; she knew that she would not be able to get back to sleep anytime soon. She got up and went to her dresser, pulling out a plain tee-shirt and shorts, feeling in dire need of a bath. She left her bedroom, heading for the furo, and when she passed her eldest sister's room the door opened and Kasumi peered out.

"Akane? Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I... I just had a bad dream," answered Akane.

Kasumi smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry, dear. I haven't been sleeping well, either. Would you like me to make you some tea?"

Akane shook her head. "Thank you, but no. Try to go back to sleep, Kasumi. I'm going to take a bath and maybe watch some television."

Kasumi reached out and patted her shoulder. "Very well. Try not to stay up too late." She shut her door.

A half-hour later Akane was in front of the television, hair still a little damp from her bath, desultorily flipping through television channels and finding nothing even remotely distracting. With a sigh she shut off the television and dropped the remote on the living room table. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and propping her head in her hands. She wanted to sleep, but was afraid to do so, for she knew the memory of Talia al Ghul was waiting for her. She stayed that way for a while before getting up and returning to her room. On her desk was her cell phone, plugged in and charging for the night. She stared at it for a few moments, hesitant, before picking it up and dialing a special number.

Her call was answered after the first ring. "Yes?"

Akane smiled at the sound of Ranma's voice. "Hi. Can... can you talk?"

"Sure. Are you alright?"

"I... yes... no... I don't know... I'm sorry, I'm being silly. It's just..." she took a deep breath in an effort to settle herself. "I... I had a nightmare."

"I see," said Ranma.

"Actually, I've been having a lot of nightmares lately. I just... I can't shake off what happened last week. It seems like every time I close my eyes I'm back in that damn monastery with Kuno and... and _her_." She closed her eyes, tears of frustration prickling them. "It's bad enough, having gone through all that, but am I going to obsess over it for the rest of my life? I just... don't know what to do."

Ranma said nothing for a moment. "I'll be over in half an hour."

"Oh! No, you don't have to do that."

"I think I do. You need help, Akane, and I always try my best to help my friends."

"...Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Half an hour. Get dressed. I think a night-time ride will help you a little, alright?"

"Alright. I'll see you soon, Ranma."

"Soon." Ranma disconnected.

* * *

Nightwing shut down the communicator on his gauntlet-portable and turned to his partner. "I have to head out. Akane needs me."

Batman looked up from the computer workstation he was currently plundering, uploading its files through his own gauntlet-portable to the secure servers of the Batcomputer. "Is she alright?"

"Physically, yeah. But she's having nightmares."

Batman nodded in understanding. He was all too familiar with how dreams could play havoc on one's well being.

Nightwing walked up behind him, scanning the information flashing on the flatscreen monitor. "Think we'll find anything useful?"

"We'll know when we sift through what we have. Talia cleared out the monastery on Mount Terror and her base in Saitama thoroughly, but I don't think she expected us to find this particular hide-out."

"Then she's an idiot. Hopefully we'll at least get something concrete on the Old Ghoul and her father's plans for Akane."

"Time will tell. I'll let Alfred know you're heading for Nerima."

"Thanks. See you in a few hours." Nightwing walked to the office door, not bothering to look at the six men lying bound and unconscious on the floor.

* * *

Akane had changed again, throwing on a short-sleeved dark blue blouse, jeans and a pair of battered white sneakers. She had gone outside, standing near the front gate, arms folded beneath her breasts, her head bowed thoughtfully. Her restlessness had grown and the house had felt stifling to her. Even the front yard seemed confining – she paced before the gate, hoping Ranma would arrive soon. She needed a way to escape the memories of her kidnapping, if only for a little while.

She heard the front door open quietly. She turned to see Kasumi walking toward her, wrapped in a dressing gown, looking very concerned.

"What are you doing outside?" Kasumi asked.

"I needed some fresh air. I'm going to go out for a while."

"Akane, it's one-thirty. It's not proper to be out of the house like this. You should be in bed, or at least resting in the living room if you can't sleep."

"Kasumi, I can't right now. The house feels... I..." She trailed off, gesturing futilely, not knowing how to articulate what she was feeling. "I need to get out of the house just for a little while. A friend is coming to pick me up."

Kasumi's brows furrowed deeply. "A friend? What sort of friend of yours would be up at this hour?"

She had just finished speaking when a black and blue motorcycle, its motor barely louder than a purr, pulled up in front of the open gate. Its rider heeled the kickstand and dismounted, pulling off his helmet.

"Akane, Kasumi," greeted Nightwing.

"Hey," said Akane softly, her smile small but relieved.

"Oh," gasped Kasumi, blinking in surprise. "Well, that answers my question." She glanced between the two and sighed softly. "I guess you going out is alright. Just... don't be out all night, if you can help it. Please, Akane?"

"I won't. Just for a little bit." Akane hugged her sister quickly.

"She'll be safe, Kasumi," said Nightwing. "My word on it." He produced a helmet from a side-compartment on his motorcycle and handed it to Akane. "You ever ridden on a motorcycle before?" Akane shook her head no. "We'll take it easy, then. Just hang on and lean when I do." The pair mounted the cycle, Akane wrapping her arms around Nightwing's stomach.

"I'll bring her back in an hour," he said to Kasumi, driving off after she nodded in acknowledgment. Kasumi stood by the gate for a moment, watching her sister and her new friend fade into the night, wondering at the strange turns her family's life had taken.

* * *

Somewhat to her surprise Akane found riding on the Nightcycle soothing. She had felt a little trepidation at first – her family, despite their relative affluence, did not even own a car – but new experiences rarely frightened her, and soon found herself enjoying the ride. Ranma was a skilled rider and drove just fast enough to provide Akane a rush without alarming her. The wind felt good as it passed over her and the Nightcycle drove so smoothly it felt like they were gliding over the pavement. There was also the guilty little thrill she felt from having her arms around Ranma. She could feel just how amazingly toned and tight his stomach was even through the kevlar of his suit, and while she would never admit it, she found that more exciting than the motorcycle ride. Also, for the first time since she returned home, she felt safe. She pulled herself closer to him, practically molding herself against his back, blushing a little under her helmet. At least she could blame her closeness on wanting to be safe during their ride; it was a flimsy excuse but she was sticking to it.

After an half hour of driving randomly through Nerima ward Ranma brought them to the small park they had visited the day they had agreed to the engagement, pulling up to its water fountain, shutting down the Nightcycle and gesturing at one of the nearby benches. Akane let go of him, a little reluctantly, and dismounted, pulling off her helmet as she went to the bench. Ranma rummaged through another side-compartment before joining her, offering Akane a bottle of sports drink. She accepted it with thanks and he sat next to her, taking off his helmet and setting it next to him.

"Feeling any better?" he asked her.

"Yes," she answered. "Very much so. Thank you for coming."

He gave her a jaunty little two-fingered salute. "All part of the service." He twisted open his own bottle of sports drink and sipped from it. "Do you want to talk about it? It may help a little."

Akane made a face. "I don't know what to say. I've been having the same dream for the past week. Being back at that temple... Kuno... Talia..." She shuddered, taking a deep breath. "It'd be almost monotonous if it didn't scare me so much each and every time." She ducked her head, pursing her lips slightly. Ranma nodded encouragingly. "Also, sometimes, I'm finding it hard to... to leave the house. It's not like I'm hiding in bed all day, but whenever I need to or want to go out, I find myself making excuses not to. I have to force myself, a lot of the time, and that _hurts_. It feels like I'm tearing a muscle in my stomach."

"PTSD is a bitch," said Ranma, frowning thoughtfully. "And even leaving out your kidnapping, you've been through a whole hell of a lot these past three months. Have you thought of seeing a psychiatrist or therapist?"

"I don't know," she said reluctantly. "I'm not certain I'd be able to tell a therapist enough to be of help to me without compromising things."

"That is a concern, but I know someone for which that wouldn't be an issue."

Akane looked at him curiously. "Oh? Who?"

"My own therapist, J'onn J'onzz."

She frowned at the name for a moment before her eyes went wide with recognition. "You mean the Martian Manhunter?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. J'onn's one of my favorite people, a really great guy. He's a telepath with thorough training in the Martian School of Psychiatry. He's helped me a lot these past six years, and especially during that first year when Batman took me in. I don't know if I'd been able to put myself back together if it wasn't for his therapy sessions."

"How exactly did Batman end up becoming your guardian?" Akane asked. She had wondered about it vaguely when she first found out about Ranma was Bruce Wayne's ward, and her curiosity had been renewed when she discovered his and Bruce's particular occupation. Ranma went still at her question, his expression becoming neutral, even a little flat. "I'm sorry," Akane backpedaled. "You don't have to have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable."

Ranma shook his head and looked at her, giving her a slightly sad but sincere smile.

"It's alright. I don't mind, and eventually you're going to find out. I don't keep it a secret – not from friends, at any rate." He let out a soft sigh as he leaned against the back of the bench, tilting his head slightly to look at the sky, a few stars visible in the night sky in spite of Tokyo's light pollution.

"When I just turned ten, my old man got it into his head to visit California," he began. "Whatever else you want to say about him – and trust me, I've said a lot – he's an enthusiastic student of the martial arts. Too much of the time he's as lazy as a pimp, but if he learns about a new technique he's going to spend the time and energy to at the very least find out if it's worth learning. He heard that the various expatriate dojos and kwoons in California had developed some interesting techniques over the past century or so, so he busted his ass to earn enough money to get us passports and transportation over to the States."

Ranma smiled wistfully. "It was fun at first. Except for a brief trip to South Korea when I was, uh, seven, I guess, I'd never been out of the country. And on top of that we were going to America. I was so excited." His smile faded and he let out a gusty sigh. "Then Pop got a hold of that damn book. I don't know whether he swapped something for it, stole it, or maybe some sensei or sifu gave it to him because he pissed them off and wanted to teach him a lesson." He laughed sourly and fell silent.

Akane looked at him with concern. "Ranma, you don't have to-"

He cut her off with a shake of his head. "No, I'm fine. I'm just a little bitter about it, even after all this time and all the therapy I've had with J'onn. It's just that it seems that whenever my old man came up with some hair-brained scheme I was the one who caught trouble for it. Hell, even though I'm no longer in his custody he still drags me into his messes." He gave his fiance a grin. "Though this mess turned out a lot better than I expected."

Akane smiled back, though she ducked her head to conceal a slight blush. "So, what was this book you mentioned?"

Ranma looked back up at the sky. "It contained what Pop thought was instructions for mastering a supposedly invincible martial arts technique – the Neko-ken."

"Cat Fist?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. The training for it is quite simple. You take the student, wrap him up in fish sausage, then drop him into a deep pit filled with starving cats."

Akane's mouth fell open as the blood drained out of her face. "You're joking..." she whispered, horrified.

He shook his head. "Wish I was. All I gained from the experience was a whole bunch of scars and an extreme fear of cats. That was unacceptable to Pop, so in an effort to break me of my phobia he threw me back into that pit four more times."

Akane brought a hand to her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Nightwing..."

He did not seemed to hear her. "After the fifth time something did happen. Something... possessed me. I don't remember it at all, but supposedly I started acting like a wild cat. More than that, actually – I gained super-human strength and speed, and could shred metal and stone like it was rice paper with claws made from my ki. From what Batman told me I beat the hell out of Pop and went on a rampage through Anaheim. Luckily Batman was there that night, doing some field work for the JLA – tracking down a Kobra cell, I think. He managed to subdue me and... well, here I am."

He laughed again. "And the hell of it was that book wasn't even a true martial arts manual. A mentor of Batman's – Zatara – took a look at it and discovered it was actually a sorcerous ritual, designed for the purpose to bind a person with some sort of feline spirit of destruction. Zatara managed to purge me of any lingering magical effects from it, but he couldn't do anything about the havoc it had wrecked on my sanity."

Akane laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I'm sorry Nightwing. I'm so, so sorry you went through that. God, how could your father have done something like that to you? What I went through feels trivial compared -"

"No, don't think like that," Ranma interjected. "The trauma I experienced doesn't invalidate your own pain." He covered her hand with his and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You went through a kind of hell I couldn't imagine for three months, and it affected you in a lot of different ways." He smiled at her. "I'm better now. A lot better. J'onn helped me find a way to heal from what my old man put me through, both from the Cat Fist and, well, other things. I'm not even afraid of cats anymore. Don't really like them, which is something of a shame since I distinctly remember being fond of them before coming to California." He gave Akane's hand a pat and let it go. She let go of his shoulder, bringing her hand down to her lap, her expression thoughtful.

"J'onn can help you too, if you want," Ranma continued. "And there are others Batman and I know who can help you deal with what you're going through." He laughed softly. "The super-hero community is like a big, extended family. We don't always get along, but we're always willing to help each other out in a pinch."

"J'onn would be willing to see me?" Akane asked softly. She pursed her lips at Ranma's answering nod. "Could I... think about it for a bit? I need some time to decide." Ranma's offer sounded very appealing, but a small, irrational part of her objected to the idea, feeling that getting therapy to deal with her nightmares was an admission of weakness. Plus she did not know if she even _wanted _to talk about it. She felt embarrassed and ashamed about what happened to her. Rationally she knew it was foolish, especially considering she had already reached out to Ranma concerning this, but the feeling was still there and she needed a little time to wrestle it into submission.

"Of course," said Ranma. Akane smiled her thanks and then yawned. "I think that's a sign to get you home. You ready to go?" At Akane's nod they got up and walked back to the Nightcycle.

* * *

"Thank you again for coming over," Akane said to Ranma in front of the Tendo Estate's front gate. She had dismounted from the Nightcycle and had handed her helmet back to him.

"You're welcome," he said as he stowed the helmet away. He turned to face her, his own helmet off for the moment, and smiled. "Like I told you, all part of the service. You have a good night, Akane. I'll see you soon."

"Good night." She hesitated, then gave him a quick but firm hug before dashing off into her house. Ranma stood still for a moment, frozen with surprised, before laughing softly to himself. He re-donned his helmet, mounted up and started his drive back to the penthouse.

* * *

**Note**: Thanks once again to the wondrous PurseMonger for her pre-reading, suggestions, and enthusiastic support.


End file.
